


Patricide For You

by EraserJester



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aangst, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Azula (Avatar) is A Good Sibling, Bye Ozai, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Insanity, Mental Breakdown, Mentioned Ozai (Avatar), Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Ozai's A+ Parenting, Patricide, Whump, Zuko is a clueless boy, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, hurt little comfort, questionable morals, until
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28888848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EraserJester/pseuds/EraserJester
Summary: pat·ri·cide/ˈpatrəˌsīd/nounthe killing of one's father, a person who kills their father.Azula has committed patricide at eleven years old.It's for Zuko. He's just lost the Agni Kai within and inch of his life, and she knows that whatever punishment her father has concocted isn't good. She takes matters into her own hands; a bad move for Ozai, a marvellous move for the rest of the world entangled in a war that should have ended long ago.Iroh claims the throne after a tragic accident to his brother (he will never rat Azula out). He ends the war and brings peace and makes reparations.Zuko grows into a polite young man with a horrific scar on his face from an Agni Kai. He loves greeting Princess Katara and Princess Sokka when they visit from the South. Avatar Aang, too. Zuko will ascend to the throne at eighteen years old.And Azula wilts under the secret. She will never tell anyone.
Comments: 19
Kudos: 124





	1. Save Your Big Brother

**Author's Note:**

> I got super invested in this and decided to make this cool thing. Won't be too long, I think. Azula kills Ozai. Iroh covers for her. They keep everything under wraps, until you know, Zuko finds out.
> 
> Azula...sorry for what I'm putting her through. I love her, I promise.

Azula giggled as her brother tripped over her foot. Zuko stumbled, and he might have fallen off of the staircase in front of them if Lady Ursa had not pulled him back. "Zuko!" She held him tightly, as the foot of the stairs. "Are you alright?" She pinched his cheek as he tried to get out of her grasp. "I'm..fine" he said reluctantly. He shot a pouty look towards Azula, who looked away.

_His fault. He didn't see my foot._

Ursa sighed, and dusted off the front of her robes. She started off towards her daughter. "Azula..." she said hesitantly.

Fire Lady Ursa was a tall thin woman, with eyes that dropped slightly downwards at the edges. While she possessed no gift from Agni, her eyes were a mixed brown that could pass for red.

Sad eyes for a sad woman.

Truthfully, Azula looked more alike to Ursa than her father. She possessed a pointed chin and slim jaw, with the same silky hair as her mother's. It didn't matter that Zuko hated it, but he and Ozai really were similar in appearance. Of course, the siblings both had golden eyes, but Zu-Zu's tended to look more of a bland yellow at times.

Azula swatted her mother's hand off of her shoulder. "Leave me alone." She sprinted away, to her room before she could hear whatever else her mother had to say. She couldn't bear to stare at those sad eyes any longer.

—-

Zuko threw an apple to Ty Lee. The young acrobat snatched it out of the air with ease before somersaulting and landing with perfect form. "Mai! Catch this!" Mai caught the apple with a little more clumsiness than Ty Lee did, and she seemed unsure of what to do with it; she gave it to Zuko rather shyly. There was no one else to give it to, so Zuko simply sliced the apple and shared it with the two girls.

He hadn't really hung out with Ty Lee or Mai without Azula, and it was a bit weird, not to see his sister with them. They were cool, anyways. Ty Lee was really nice and she liked playing tag with him, and Mai...she was really smart. And while she wasn't the best with her knives just yet, Zuko was always excited to see them try it out.

"Come on, stand up! You still haven't perfected the jump yet!" Ty Lee poked Zuko in the shoulder, a gentle difference from Azula's (literally) dangerous jabs. Zuko groaned. "I don't want to do the jumps, I'm not as flexible as you, it hurts when I do it!"

"That's because you haven't practiced enough!" Ty Lee put her hands on her hips. When Zuko had first met Ty Lee's family, it had taken him a long time to find the difference between Ty Lee and the rest of her sisters but now it was obvious. Ty Lee was a bit more... _fun_ , a little more rambunctious, than the rest. Azula had kept an eye on her, that was for sure.

"Well, why doesn't Mai practice with us, then?" Zuko demanded. Mai, who had opted to stay quiet, flushed and looked away. But Ty Lee had a great answer. "That's because Mai's practicing her knives! She's going to be super good at them, and then she can do those cool tricks, like a knife thrower! She's going to be the best!" Mai blushed with praise, but before she could say anything, Zuko interrupted. "Well then! It's just like firebending! I need to practice my firebending so I can be the best! I can't waste my time with jumps and tricks-"

"Dummy." Azula jumped down the last few stairs to the Royal Garden. "You're better off practicing with Ty Lee than you are with Master Shung" she sneered, coming closer. Zuko seemed to shrink, the spunk attitude he'd shared with Ty Lee and Mai vanished as his little sister poked him in the chest. "Go play with your own friends, Zu-Zu. I'm not sharing mine." 

He ran away before they could see the tears.

—-

Later, in her room, Azula thought she might have been a bit mean.

But whatever. She wasn't going to apologize to him; he could do well with thicker skin. Azula toyed with one of the tassels attached to the corners of her pillows, wrapping it around her finger.

Her room was built the same way as Zuko's, but their decorations were extremely different. While Zuko had shelves stuffed with storytime scrolls and little toys he'd deemed favorites, Azula's room was an enlarged dollhouse, complete with the doll. She had no toys, no pictures. She had tomes of ancient texts of history long gone, textbooks discussing a Princess' life, and scrolls that depicted the most advanced katas.

Zu-Zu would grow up to become a reputable Prince, while Azula would fade away as second daughter to the second Prince of the Fire Nation. After Azulon died, Iroh would become the next Fire Lord and Lu Ten would follow in his footsteps, and all would be well. She could imagine the monotonous life ahead of her. She would be married off and would languish in a mansion while her brother would marry Mai (that is, if they _ever_ got over their constant stammering and blushing) and probably become some sort of ambassador, with that anxious charm of his.

It didn't matter what she thought, of course. Azula thought quite a lot of things, many of them far from nice. She liked to think, and she liked to fight. Skills that wouldn't exactly serve you well as a supposedly demure little Princess.

 _Knock, knock._ "Azula? It's your mother."

Azula held her breath, hoping Lady Ursa might think she wasn't in her room. But the Fire Lady knew better. "Zuko's fine right now. I just want to talk to you."

Anytime her mother wanted to talk to her it rarely ended well. Before Azula could come up with a clever response, the door creaked open a little bit, just enough for Azula to see her mother's sad eyes.

Ursa came in before Azula could say anything more, and sat on the end of the bed. "When you were born, Zuko wanted to hold you as soon as you'd been named." A soft smile came over her face, a good difference from the usual melancholy mask. "The servants told me that he sat outside my room all night, until he was allowed to come inside."

Azula withheld a sneer. Of course her mother would talk to servants like they were her friends. But Ursa plowed on. "He made faces at you, to try and make you laugh. He was with you as much as his father would allow it" and once again, the smile was off her face. Azula couldn't remember any of this. She had been a baby. But Zuko was only two years older than her.

Whatever Ursa wanted to say, she didn't. She kissed Azula's cheek, and left the room.

—-

Zu-Zu sucks a lot at firebending.

He's always so out of breath, his face all sweaty and red, ew. He can't even make blue fire.

It doesn't really matter to Azula. Her brother's really good at calligraphy. And prose. He has a sweet voice that would be good for singing (not that she would ever tell him).

As long as he can still give her piggybacks, she doesn't really care much if he's good at bending or not.

—-

Lu Ten is really good at Pai Sho. Azula sulks in her seat, after he beats her for the second time. He laughs, a free one that disguises the hours he stayed up last night. "Don't be a sore loser, Lala."

"Don't call me that!" She pouts and moves her Pai Sho tiles, showing Lu Ten. "See? I would have done that, and that, and _bam_! I would have won! But you had to do _that_ and then I lost!"

"You need to find multiple ways to win, Azula. It's rare to win with only one plan." Lu Ten swirled his tea. "I learned from the best! My father!"

Azula snorted. "Yeah, right. And where does he get the time to teach you?"

Lu Ten falls quiet. Azula's toed the line, and she backtracks. "Sorry. That wasn't really nice. When's Iroh coming back?"

Her cousin places his cup on the Pai Sho board. "Father's coming back for a quick break next month." He scratches his neck. "By then, I'll be in the Islands, gathering more intel on the new tanks we're making." He looks down. "I'll see him in three months, at the very least. Worst-case scenario, a year."

"Oh. Okay. Sorry." Azula didn't like Iroh much, but Zuko and Lu Ten did, so she tolerated the old man. She kind of wished her father would go on a military expedition; maybe he could stop making Zu-Zu cry.

"You know how you can make it up to me?" Lu Ten props his face on his hands and winks at his cousin. "My twenty-first birthday is coming up."

"So?" Azula sticks her tongue out. "You're getting kind of old."

"Hush. You know what I'd like as a present?" He leans close.

Azula tilts her head.

"I would like....for you to win at Pai Sho, against me. For my birthday."

She blinked. "You want me to defeat you? For your birthday?"

"Yep!" Lu Ten leans back in his chair; if he were to lean back any more he might fall off. "What better gift then my dear cousin teaching my own skills back at me?"

—-

In two weeks, it's Lu Ten's birthday.

Azula wins against him. Zuko watches the two while eating his own slice of cake. There's whipped cream on his face. "Wow! Good job, Azula! Want some cake?"

"I'll get my own." She flicks his forehead. "Dum-Dum."

"Hey!" Lu Ten laughs, as Zuko chases after his little sister with a face full of cream. "Rematch later, Lala?"

"Don't call me that!"

Lu Ten doesn't live long enough to have a rematch. He dies at twenty-two, three days before his twenty-third birthday. He had been on the field for more than a year. During that time, he'd sent letters to both Zuko and Azula. Zuko wrote back, but Azula rarely did.

She regretted it now.

—-

Azula witnessed her first assassination attempt when she was nine and Zuko was eleven. They were sitting with their parents at the dinner table, one of the only times the fractured family ever conversed with each other.

It had been one of the servants that stood at the entrance of the dining room. He'd been a new face, hadn't had the job for more than a month. It had been so quick, a sharp and stinging reminder of the dark sides of royal life.

It all started when Azula's brother shyly asked for more berry tarts for dessert. Ozai's only reaction to this was a slight wrinkle of the nose; he hadn't rotted into the cruel and tyrannical father they were familiar with in the future. The Fire Lord had nodded in grudging agreement while Ursa patted Zuko's hand, and the servant (Azula didn't know his name, didn't bother remembering it) had walked slowly over to her brother, what seemed like a tart on a plate that he was holding.

She'd seen the strange way he was walking, like something was preventing him from walking as loosely as usual. And then, when he'd set the tart in front of the eager Prince, Azula had finally spotted it. The servant's sleeve had ridden up, exposing the side of a blade.

" _ZU-ZU_!" She bowled her brother over, and the two of them crushed the tart in the process. She heard a yell, and then the air turned uncomfortably hot, with the crackle of a fire. The two siblings huddled together underneath the table as people ran and yelled.

It was over too quickly. Ursa bent down and coaxed them out from under the table. "Zuko? Azula? Are you alright?" When Azula got up from Zuko, her hand was wet. Her heart dropped as she stared at the dark liquid stained on her hands but upon closer inspection, it was berry juice. The tart's crust was smeared all over Zuko's face, and she couldn't resist giggling at his messy appearance.

Ozai bent down, staring at his children, making sure they weren't injured. The Fire Lord himself was fine of course; he'd grown accustomed to fending off assassinations. The only sign of a scuffle was the ruined tablecloth, burnt. "Ursa, take them to their rooms. I need to call the Palace guards." He motioned for his wife to leave the room with the two kids.

Both of them didn't see the still servant's body their father. It seemed Ozai still had big enough of a heart to cover death from them.

"Zuko, go wash the tart off of your face. Azula, you should wash your hands." Ursa bent down and helped both of them in her room, gently sponging away the sticky syrup from Azula's hands. Ursa's own hands were trembling. Azula, however, was focused on her brother. His cheeks were flushed, but he still had a small smile as his mother cleaned his face. Azula tapped her knee, thinking of what had happened only moments before. "Zu-Zu, you should be grateful that I helped you."

"Azula!" Her mother admonished her. "Zuko and I are grateful for your fast reflexes, but you don't need to say that."

"No, it's okay, Mom" Zuko interjected. He gave Azula a lopsided smile, and hugged her tightly. "I'm really grateful, 'Zula. You're always so smart and so tough." He grinned. "I'm going to protect you next time, alright?"

"There _won't_ be a next time, children. Your father will make sure of that."

Oh, if only Ozai continued protecting his children. If only it didn't go downhill from there.

Lu Ten and Azulon died and Ursa disappeared, the next year. Iroh returned to the Fire Nation a broken man.

Azula learned a few new katas. She was getting better at throwing knives, too.

But she always made sure that her brother was fine-ish. She failed on that part most spectacularly. Azula hadn't realized it, but as time went on, she'd left her big brother behind. Zuko's heart grew only more vulnerable, as he reeled from the loss of his mother and cousin, and turned into an object for his father's disdain and wrath.

And Ozai turned into the father that scarred his children.

He paid for it in blood.


	2. The Deed That's Warped My Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the action part. Everything goes downhill from here (most namely, Azula's mental health). 
> 
> Poor Zuko. 
> 
> And Azula, of course.

Azula had killed Ozai without bending.

Mai had taught her how to throw a knife, and Ty Lee had taught her how to be agile and silent. Iroh had given her his family's loyalty, except she took it farther than he had ever dreamed. Lu Ten had given her that wide, totally unorthodox smile just before he left the Fire Nation.

And Zu-Zu? He'd given her the sheer will to do the deed.

It had been more or less as complicated as Azula thought it would be. Quiet, sneaking footsteps, a twist of the wrist, and _bam_ -it happened so fast. Ozai had been sitting against the throne, as regal as one could be, and the next instant, slumped over onto himself, the colour of his blood merging with his red Fire Lord robes. Azula hadn't dared to believe, at first. She stayed in her hiding spot behind the throne, barely breathing, watching with eyes that were perhaps too bright, as her father died.

She toed his still body with her boot, and when he didn't stir, all Azula could do was yank the knife out from him (she _refused_ to look at his eyes, no she wouldn't-) and dash from the throne room and throw open the doors. While guards chased after her, wondering how she had even gotten in there in the first place, Azula sprinted to Prince Iroh's study, where she barged in and threw down the bloody knife, fresh and wet with Ozai's blood.

"Zuko's not banished" she said breathlessly. "He's not."

"Azula?"

"I took care of it. Zu-Zu's staying home."

"..You...took care of what?" Iroh set down his papers and massaged his head, full of grey hairs. "My dear, what could you-" his eyes latched onto the knife, and the blood. It took Iroh longer to understand than Azula would have liked, but nonetheless Iroh's tired and bloodshot eyes grew wide and he clutched her shoulders, whispering and stammering. " _Azula!_ What in the _blazes_ have you done?"

"I saved Zuko. I saved my brother."

Iroh palmed the knife as guards came into his office, accusing Azula of dashing out of the throne room. "What do you mean? My dear niece has been accompanying me all morning." His voice was sweet and solemn, and for a second Azula almost believed him herself.

It seems being two-faced is a Royal specialty.

Through Iroh's network of spies and assistants, Ozai's body was quickly cremated and the guards were all well-tipped to keep their mouths shut of any suspicions they had.

It was such a pity that day, really. Fire Lord Ozai, barely tasting power before he was struck down by an unknown assassin. The killer was never found, and so the people mourn. Or, at the very least, they pretend to.

Iroh finds Azula at night, beside Zuko's sleeping form. The bandage around his face serves as a sharp reminder of Ozai's dead wrath, and his breathing is shallow to accompany the fever. "There is no knife anymore. I have taken it to a village blacksmith and it will be melted and re-made into a sickle or shovel for any farmer to use. I will compensate Lady Mai's family for the cost of the knife."

"Thanks." Truth to be told, Azula hadn't thought about the aftermath at all. She was lucky to have Iroh to cover up for her.

She wasn't going to disappear like Mother. She was going to stay with Zuko, no matter what. "Zu-Zu will be fine, right?"

"He'll live." Iroh folded his hands together. "I will be officially crowned as Regent Fire Lord tomorrow. Zuko will inherit the throne when he is eighteen years old."

"Okay." Azula hadn't expected her to be Fire Lord. It was only right that the firstborn inherited the throne.

"Azula, are you sure you're fine?" That was such an unintelligent question that all Azula did was lean into Iroh's warmth. "No."

Iroh did not offer more comfort, for he was sure he could not have given any.

\---

Ty Lee's clothes were stuffy and hot and heavy, not at all like the light clothing she wore almost every day. Her sisters were all chatting with each other and Ty Lee had braided Ty Woo's hair twice before their parents sternly told them to hush.

This was the second coronation she had been to, and it was very different from Fire Lord Ozai's, two years ago. He had been frightening and tall, with a shadow that didn't give her a good aura, not at all.

Regent Fire Lord Iroh was short and stout with a nice grin but his aura wasn't exactly nice, either. It was sad and grey, and staring at it for too long made Ty Lee feel guilty. It hadn't been long after the dead of his son, Lu Ten. No surprise Iroh was still grieving.

Ty Lee straightened her back, trying to find Mai and Azula. When they watched Zuko's Agni Kai (the burning flesh, the scream, Ty Lee had turned away from it all-) they had sat together, and Ty Lee had covered her eyes while Man clutched her arm.

Azula was sitting in a front-row seat, her arms crossed. Ty Lee couldn't make out much of her expression.

Zuko was no were to be found.

Ty Lee liked Prince Zuko. A little awkward but kind, and that crush he had on Mai was so cute! These thoughts sputtered out as she remembered the Agni Kai, and Ty Lee slumped back in her seat.

"Sit up straight, Ty Lee" her mother said sternly.

"Sorry, mother."

"No talking."

Ty Lee sighed. She hoped Zuko was okay.

\---

One of her knives was missing. Mai lightly lifted one of her long sleeves, feeling the weight of her knives in her left sleeve. Then she lifted her right sleeve, and it was much lighter than the other.

Azula said she would return the knife soon. That had been a day ago. When Azula said soon, she meant soon. Mai pursed her lips. She wanted that knife back.

As Regent Fire Lord Iroh was crowned, Azula was the only Royal there. Zuko was no where to be seen, and Mai could not stop the twist of her stomach as the events of the recent Agni Kai played in her head.

\---

As the months went by, it was inevitable that Mai and Ty Lee would find out the truth about Fire Lord Ozai's demise.

Azula had feared what they would say, but Mai nodded, a quick thing that gave Azula great reassurance but equal trepidation.

Ty Lee had frowned, her wide eyes getting impossibly bigger and she lay on the grass and squinted at the sun. "We sort of figured it out."

"You did?"

Ty Lee rolled so she was facing Azula. "Yeah."

They didn't talk much about it. The walls had ears, and so did the servants (most regrettably). But when Mai patted Azula's hand, when Ty Lee placed her hand above Mai's, when they hugged Azula, she could pretend that everything was okay.

Of course, that didn't stop the nightmares and screams.

Azula hadn't looked at Ozai's eyes, and yet they plagued her when dreaming, glazed things that seemed to cry (but that was stupid, she'd never seen Ozai cry before) when staring at her, and when she reached out she would be engulfed in flames.

She had taken to locking her room from the inside, so fretting maids would come into her room. Of course, this spawned a whole new set of gossip about the young Princess, from secret tortures to ancient summonings.

Zu-Zu was none the wiser.

Regent Fire Lord Iroh brought much change to the Fire Nation. He stopped the war, for one, and immediately recalled all soldiers back home. Some hadn't come quietly; there was now a team assigned to forcibly take resisters back to the Fire Nation.

Like it or not, Azula was the first to know every single plan. She read over Iroh's manuscripts, his notes, and she either agreed with a slight nod, or she shook her head and proposed a better plan. Iroh _did_ worry for his only niece, believe it or not. But his ties would always be stronger with Zuko. Azula knew this, and so she nor Iroh made any move to become closer with each other.

Killer at eleven, and her big brother was none the wiser.

—-

"Argh!" Zuko slumped onto the ground, and a cloud of dust billowed up around him. "Why can't I get it?"

Iroh cradled a steaming cup of tea in his hands. "You're only fourteen, Zuko. Let the fire come to you, and relax."

" _Only_ fourteen?" Zuko demanded hotly. His voice echoed around the empty training grounds. Regent Fire Lord Iroh smiled pleasantly, but that smile was quickly wiped off as his nephew argued, "didn't Azula master that form when she was ten?"

The Regent Fire Lord took a sip of his tea to mask his expression. "Princess Azula is very skilled in firebending. Both of you progress at different levels. I have no doubt you will master this form, Zuko."

"Where _is_ Azula?"

Contrary to popular belief concerning siblings, Zuko was the more clingy one out of he and Azula. One would think Azula was the older sister, as she was so frightfully distant with him. That didn't stop Zuko from chasing her and tagging along with her.

"I just finished my calligraphy classes." The lithe figure of Azula walked into the courtyard, and she didn't miss how Iroh stiffened. There was a small smudge of black ink on her cheek, and Zuko was quick to point it out. "La-La, you've got a little something on you-"

Azula slapped away his hand. "I can do it myself." While she vigorously rubbed her check Zuko stepped back, smiling faintly and the scar on his face pinched slightly at the edges. Despite a full year since the abominable Agni Kai, Azula remembered the way her brother's face had lit on fire, and how the stench of burnt skin had stayed by him. "Okay, La-La."

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry."

In Zuko's eyes, his little sister was simply that. His little sister. Sure, maybe a little mean, and more than a little scary, but girls were just like that sometimes, right? He thought of Mai's shiny knives and Ty Lee's freaky poses. Yeah, Azula was really strong, but still. A good sister.

Yeah, she had mellowed out a bit in the past year, hadn't she? Zuko couldn't remember the last time she made a plan that might have gotten him killed. True progress, right? Maybe she looked a bit paler these days, and her eye bags were a bit heavier, but it was possible that she was just tired

After wiping her face, she put her hands on her hips and stared at Iroh. "Don't you have a meeting to get to?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Iroh smiled serenely. "Thank you so much for reminding me, Azula. I must get going."

"What about my firebending?"

Iroh raised an eyebrow at Zuko. "I am not your tutor, Zuko. I am simply a family aide." He patted Zuko's head (who was considerably taller than him-) and went off on his way to his supposed meeting.

Zuko turned to face Azula. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I need to go."

Zuko's little sister walked away, with a heavy heart that the Prince would never understand. He tilted his head to the side and placed a soft hand against his year-old scar. It had warped his features quite a bit, not to mention how it seemed everything was too dark in that eye. "Huh."

He had chalked it up to humiliating luck that Ozai had been assassinated before he had issued any sort of punishment for Zuko.

Of course, Zuko hadn't forgotten when Azula had set a flower on fire in the Royal Garden and how he'd told mother, and then how Azula had lit his bottom on fire. But that was in the past.

Mother was in the past, too.

And Father.

And Lu Ten.

Zuko said again, "Huh." He was alone in the clearing. Zuko hadn't really thought about it, not really. But it was undeniable, that the Fire Nation Royal Family was pitifully short on heirs. Iroh, Azula, and Zuko were the last of the Royal Family, with zero cousins.

Lady Ursa...Zuko took a seat where Iroh had once sat. He had fond memories of his missing mother. Laughing together while she nursed his wounds, and how he'd cuddle into her side at night for another story. She was gone, of course.

Maybe if Zuko thought about it a little more, and if Zuko was a little sharper, he might have been morbidly curious about Fire Lord Ozai's short term. But these memories were accompanied by screams and feelings of terror and tears, and so Zuko pushed these thoughts away and continued on with his day.

Another year went by. Zuko celebrated his fifteenth birthday with a delicious cake topped with candied peach-pears and the finest cream, with Azula beside him out of sheer obligation. She certainly acted the part of the little sister, with brattish remarks and eyes that fended away misleading nobles. When Zuko ate the first slice of cake Azula held her breath.

She had been sure it wasn't poisoned. She had swooped into the kitchens and demanded to know where the flour came from, where the peach-pears were plucked, how the cream was whipped, all while giving all the servants quite possibly the shock of their lives. But Azula cared not for face when it came to making sure her brother's cake was not poisoned.

The Princess exhaled a breath as Zuko chewed and swallowed the first bite without looking the slightest bit paler. "Delicious!" She ate her own slice, albeit slowly.

"Don't you want to dance, niece?" Iroh did not nudge Azula like he would to Zuko. He simply faced her like a distant acquaintance. "It's certainly a joyous day."

"No. I'm content watching Zu-Zu's failing advances towards Lady Mai." Indeed, Ty Lee laughed behind her hand as she and Azula watched Zuko and Mai across the room, making equally awkward faces.

"I admit, that _is_ a very entertaining pastime." Iroh sighed. "I remember when I was your age, you know. The ladies were just lining up to greet me."

Azula curled her lip. "You aren't willing to indulge the noble hags?"

"Mind your manners, Azula. These nobles are not on our side. Not yet." Iroh stroked his beard. "As you know, many of them were in an uproar after...my brother's untimely death."

Iroh has been exceedingly busy. Ending a war is not easy, nor is the aftermath of that. He must make treaties and sign papers and surrender lands and relinquish the Fire Nation's grip. They've emptied all foreign prisons and many are being sent home as they speak.

"Of course." It's not like she's being accused of a crime when Iroh is sure she's committed it.

And so, Azula was amused by Zuko's blushing cheeks and stuttering words, and even let out a small chuckle when her older brother tripped over his own two feet before landing face first in a rhuberry pie.

When they were younger, Azula and Zuko were almost the same height. She clearly remembers she could jump higher then Zu-Zu in the past, and yet time has taken it's toll. It is undeniable now as Zuko grows, that he is really the older brother.

It's little changes, like the strange deepness of his voice to the sudden onslaught of tiny boils over his face, to his sudden increase in height.

Azula's almost a full head shorter than her brother, yet that doesn't stop her from commanding him. There are rumours circulating, that the Heir is too soft and too kind, not to mention an unnatural lack of firebending-

The Princess makes sure to silence such gossip.

Three months after Zuko's sixteenth birthday, the Avatar has been discovered in an iceberg in the Southern Water Tribe.

\---

Katara is extremely wary of the Royal Palace. It is majestic and clean, not to mention the servants at every corner.

Almost everything is red or gold.

She touched her mother's necklace, but that offered her little comfort.

It didn't help that the Prince of the Fire Nation was so _nice._ He grinned and smiled and bowed at her and Sokka and Aang. His demeanour was entirely at odds with his scarred appearance.

Zuko led them around the Palace, pointing things out here and there, who drew that, who that was, things that only Aang would find interesting.

Sokka whispered in Katara's ear, "tell me if you want to leave."

"We can't exactly do that." It was more of a treaty thing, than real kindness. Katara still wasn't used to wearing the pretty silks that had been sent from the Fire Nation, and she'd never seen Sokka strap on the Komodo-rhino bone shinguards that had been gifted to him, when the Fire Nation had surrendered three years ago.

Katara nodded to Aang, who was in front of them chatting up a storm with Prince Zuko. Both of them were so _cheerful_. Katara didn't think she was a negative person, but listening in on them made her head hurt.

They should have been polar opposites. Prince Zuko was supposed to be a fire bender, and those _kind_ were callous and bloodthirsty. But he was sweet, with black waist-length hair done in a half top-knot which were at odds with Aang's bald tattooed head.

"Just...be careful, okay, Sokka? I don't like this place?"

After that, Katara thought she might have had a heart attack. The Water Tribe siblings heard a saccharine-sweet voice behind them.

"What don't you like about the Royal Palace, Lady Katara?"

There stood a _girl_. Her long inky hair had been done up most beautifully in a bun with a gold headpiece, and her eyes were shrewd with eyebags that shouldn't have been there for someone as young as her, who was shorter than Katara.

Katara rested a slight hand on her water pouch. Three years hadn't been enough to have her completely master water bending, but she was proud to say that she'd learned a lot. "Who are you?"

Sokka stepped in front of his sister. "Whaddya want?"

The girl took another step forward, and her mouth curled into a smirk as Sokka skittered a half-step back. "You may address me as Princess Azula, Sokka."

Katara pushed away her brother. "How do you know our names?" She made a desperate look back, but Zuko and Aang were still blissfully unaware of this newcomer. The stranger didn't seem at all bothered by them, and continued walking closer to them.

Wait.

Did she say she was a _princess_?

"I am privy to simple knowledge, such as names." Princess Azula sniffed. "If you're ever at an inconvenience, please _don't_ hesitate before calling for a servant."

And then she walked around the corner and was gone.

"Katara? Sokka? Everything okay back there?"

"Do you have a sister?" Katara hoped the answer was _no._

Zuko's face brightened. "Yeah, I do! Her name's Azula! Do you wanna meet her?"

"..Oh, no, that's fine. Let's tour the rest of the Palace first."

\---

It was inevitable that they would have to officially meet Princess Azula. That night at dinner, Zuko's little sister gave no indication that she'd met any of them before. While Katara and Sokka gulped down glasses of ice water after eating the spicy noodles accompanied with saucy meats and vegetables, the Princess was quiet, save for the multiple nudges and orders she gave her brother.

"Straighten your back, Zu-Zu. Hold your chopsticks higher."

Zuko cracked a smile as he simply ate faster. "Sure thing, La-La."

" _Don't call me that_."

"Hm-Mhm." It really was a wonder how much Zuko's sunny personality contrasted with his little sister's commanding words.

Katara had the honour of talking with Lady Ty Lee and Lady Mai after dinner. "Say, are you friends with Princess Azula?" She did not miss the look the Fire Nation nobles shared. "Yes, we are" Mai stated bluntly.

"Oh. How long have you been friends with her?"

"Since the age of six."

Ty Lee bobbed her head as Mai finished her short sentence in that dull tone of hers. Their answers weren't exactly rude, they just placed a brick wall up front that stopped any more intruding questions.

"She seems very...powerful." Princess Azula must have received a superb education, not to mention she was a famed firebending prodigy.

"She is."

This conversation was going nowhere.

Katara went to bed with the faint feeling of being watched, but she woke up the next day with no sign of distress. Her room was next to Sokka and Aang's, and so she greeted Aang. "Morning!"

"Did you sleep well, Katara?" Aang pointed back to he and Sokka's rooms, where Katara's brother was still snoring. "Sokka's out like a light!"

"Tell him to wake up, Aang. I don't care what it takes." She walked down the hallway. "We won't keep our hosts waiting."

\---

"Fire Lord Iroh?"

"Please call me Iroh, Katara. I'm just a Regent Lord."

"Well, Iroh, you've brought a lot of change to the Fire Nation in three years."

"I can't disagree with that." He blew lightly on his cup of tea, and the steam dissipated in the morning air. "I only regret that it couldn't have been done sooner."

"Of course." None of them had mourned the loss of Fire Lord Ozai. "I'm just wondering..." Katara stared down at her cup of tea. Sokka and Aang were nearby, talking (Aang was talking. Sokka was brooding) with Zuko. "Well, the late Lord Ozai's death was awfully coincidental."

"It sure was" Iroh agreed carefully. He and Azula were partners in crime, and they would take their secrets to the grave. "I was the most surprised when I was crowned Regent Fire Lord." He sent a look to Zuko, who was trying to coax a turtle-duck to come to his hand. "It's hard to believe that in two years, my nephew will be on the throne."

"And your niece?" Katara had been foolish to hope for a reaction.

Iroh blinked slowly, playing the part of the humble old man. "My niece is probably off with her friends at the moment" he said brightly. "Ah, youth. The pleasures that I took for granted. Are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

"Wha-no, why would you think that?"

\---

They were insufferably weak.

Azula curled her lip as she saw Zuko cradling a hand after the turtle-duck had bitten him, and how Iroh chuckled and how Aang fretted.

Weak, all of them.

Zu-Zu bore the deadly price of his father's wrath, yet it had made him softer than ever. Iroh had been braced with the power of a nation, yet he was enjoying tea with teenagers.

Weak.

She was strong.

Ozai's eyes.

She was strong.

The smell of blood.

She was strong.

Azula shook her head. She had done what needed to be done, but she wouldn't manipulate her power.

\---

It was inevitable that Zuko found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yep, that's it for now but I actually have a few ideas on how this can play out
> 
> Comment down below because you know, I love reading them :)


	3. The Time Since

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing like writing fan fiction at school to keep you on your toes
> 
> Think of this chapter as something to fill in the gaps, to make things smoother.

Zuko was thirteen years old when he woke up in a hospital cot, and Azula had been by his side. "You're awake."

"Mhm." His throat was unbearably dry, and there was something around his head-a bandage, perhaps? Yes, that was what it is. 

Azula helped him sit up and as he drank from a cup of water, she said, in the calmest voice possible, "you're staying home."

"Wha-oh. Oh. Wait a minute-" Zuko set the cup down. "-I'm here, and-" he put his hand against the bandage, lightly pressing down before wincing from the pain. "-I've got this, and...wait a minute. The Agni Kai-!"

"It's over." Zuko jumped, as Iroh entered the room. His uncle looked so much worse, as if he'd aged with twice the speed. "Are you okay, Zuko? You don't feel any dizziness? Or fever?" He set a teapot on the stand. “You were burning up, a day and a half ago.”

"Right now, no..." Zuko says hesitantly. He feels a little stiff, excluding the bandage around his head, which seems to have been changed frequently. "Um, what day is it?"

"It's been three days since the Agni Kai" Azula says curtly, interrupting whatever Iroh was about to say.

She's different. She's not smiling at his expense, or cackling as he scrambles for a defence. Her face is stony and unreadable, as far away as he's ever seen her. 

She's still eleven, though. 

Zuko reaches out, and she stiffens, as he holds her hand. They haven't held hands in years. "So..." his voice is soft. "..what happens now?" He's fearful, ever so scared. He’d lost,  _ lost _ .

He'd surely lost the Agni Kai, right?

"You're staying home." Azula is firm in her words, and she holds Zuko's hand tighter. "As soon as you're healed, you're going back to class." 

"But...Father-" Zuko has to force these words out of him.

Iroh chooses to intervene. "My brother is dead." He nods to Azula.  _ Do not worry, niece. I'll keep it short and blunt _ . "Ozai's body was cremated after he died." 

Zuko paused. "What?"

_ Ozai.  _

_ Ozai's body.  _

_ Died? _

_ Cremated? _

"Father's...dead?"

"An assassin came into the Throne Room when the guards were distracted, after the Agni Kai ended." Iroh and Azula both sport the same expression now; guarded with a clenched jaw. The two exchange a look. They will never tell Zuko that he was meant for a fruitless mission to find the Avatar. 

\---

Zuko is seventeen years old when he even starts to give real thought of what happened to Ozai. He has lived a cushy life so far, to say nothing of the atrocity that is the scar given to him by his father, and he has hoped to keep it that way. People often see him idly scratching at his face, and they privately think if the Heir's brains have been addled. It's all in their thoughts, of course. 

He is busier than ever, and there are new tutors every single day to teach him things he never thought he would need to learn as the soon to be Fire Lord. Everyday the Prince of the Fire Nation is bombarded with new tax rules, more etiquette classes then is healthy, and definitely too many fittings for Zuko to stay still at all. 

Prince Zuko's face is known not just in the Fire Nation but around the world; he's met with countless politicians and ambassadors and their tales of the cheery Heir of the Fire Nation's personality at odds with his scarred appearance touch the ears of every sympathetic fool around to hear it. He's made a few speeches on the Lunar New Year, he's funded a petting zoo outside of the Capital, and his lovely nature (allegedly) makes all the girls swoon. 

—-

Princess Azula isn't betrothed to anyone. 

Fire Lord Iroh doesn't seem to be in a rush to marry off his niece, either. He doesn't exactly have a need to, per se. There is no need to put up a good image to the public, as Zuko does enough for both of them. The Royal Family isn't hurting for money, either. She remains a shadow with the barest gossip. 

However squashed the rumours may be, they flit from place to place with unrelenting force. She's a tyrant, she's a spoiled brat, she's a murderous prodigy, she's never sparred in her life; they contradict each other and create even more conversation. 

Azula's fine with all of that. Just more publicity for her. 

Sometimes, during a banquet or another important meeting, some noble will snidely suggest to Iroh something along the lines of Azula seeing a matchmaker, but with a cold smile and forlorn eyes, Fire Lord Iroh always firmly disagrees. The least he can do for his niece is to ensure she lives the rest of her life happy (or as happy as a murderer can be). 

He spoils her, gives her the best tutors and scrolls, but their emotional bond is the farthest thing from stable. 

When she's twelve years old, Azula asks her uncle if he knew how to lightning bend. He denies it, and goes on with his day. 

When she's thirteen, she shows him an offensive lighningbending counter-attack that Iroh hadn't even thought of, that she came up with herself. It's dangerous and deadly and very unstable, and they're alone in the courtyard when Azula tries it out; she manages to singe a tree.

He finally teaches her how to redirect lightning when she is fourteen. It takes her a long time to even grasp the method; something Iroh said about mental stability and whatever. 

She doesn't get the hang of it, not really. It's fine. She can sort of redirect it when she's fifteen. It's still shaky, and it's not sure that she'll ever master it.

At least Zuko's starting to show some progress in his own firebending classes. He's slow and clumsy, but his tutor is patient and understanding (quite unlike Azula's past teachers, in fact), and sometimes, Iroh even has time to teach his nephew himself. 

Azula prefers to train alone.

\---

Zuko likes to spend time with Princess Katara and Prince Sokka when they visit, not to mention Lord Aang. They haven't really gotten a title for the Avatar yet and it doesn't help that Aang has no sense of formalities at all. He's hyper and fun, a distraction from his soon-to-be Fire Lord duties. The four love staying up at night, joking about rude nobles and the terror known as paperwork. 

  
  


He still hasn't gotten anywhere with Mai, though. Zuko is still a blushing mess after a meeting with her, and it doesn't help that Ty-Lee's advice never works out. Roses? Really?

Zuko would bet that he was never supposed to find out what happened to Ozai. Azula and Iroh would be content with him living his entire life with the stupid thought of his father dead after an accident. He knew there was something being kept from him. He didn't know what. 

Fire Lord Ozai had been assassinated by an unknown intruder. 

Azulon had died under mysterious circumstances that not even Iroh knew the full extent of. It should not have surprised anyone that Azulon's second son would follow the same suit. 

Zuko stared at the beautiful calligraphy paintings that hung around his room. He'd drawn most of them, in fact. "Uncle." 

"Yes, Zuko?" Iroh lounged on one of the cushy sofas in his nephew's room, looking exactly like an old noble. Four years on the throne had not been kind to him, and it showed, from Uncle's wrinkled face that was more spotty then smooth and his hair, which had turned entirely stark white. His hands were gnarled and shook ever so slightly, whenever he played a game of Pai Sho. 

Azula was never too great at the game, surprisingly. 

Zuko turned away from the paintings. “Nothing.” 

\---

Mai's little brother, Tom-Tom, turns three today. They hold a modest celebration for the boy, and Mai makes sure he behaves (sort of). Ty Lee and her sisters are there, of course, and they fawn over him, and bring him gifts that he probably will never use. 

Zuko's obviously there too, and Tom-Tom laughs when the Prince carries him on his shoulders after most of the other guests have left. 

The two have a grand time with each other, and Azula catches sight of Zuko attempting to teach Tom-Tom Pai Sho as she ducks through the door, at night, when the party's well over. "Sorry, I wasn't able to make it" she apologizes curtly to Mai's parents, but they're all too honoured by the Princess' very presence. 

Azula presses a thin box into Mai's hand. "For your brother." Then, she pokes Zuko in the back. "Oi. How long have you been here?"

Zuko smiles, a warm, easy one. His default smile. "Just a while, since Tom-Tom's banquet ended. I've been teaching him, Pai Sho, look-" he points to Tom-Tom, just as the toddler shoves a Pai Sho tile in his mouth. 

"Tom-Tom! Spit that out!" Ty Lee picks up Mai's brother as he fusses, and a drool-covered game tile falls onto the ground from his chubby hand. "You're so messy!" 

And then Mai walks over and takes Tom-Tom away, and then Ty Lee and Zuko try to make Tom-Tom laugh, then they succeed, then Mai's parents tell them that Tom-Tom should have gone to bed a long time ago, and the teens reluctantly hand off the toddler to his parents. 

Azula feels cold, like some sort of stranger who walked in on something. She can't take much delight in Tom-Tom's birthday or anything else, to be frank. In her opinion, the best present for Tom-Tom is an introduction to throwing knives or some sort of other weapon; it was good to start young. 

She leaves soon, with a bitter glance back at her old friends and her big brother. They'll have a good life, she'll make sure of that. 

\---

Tom-Tom unwraps Azula's present himself, after breakfast. 

"It's a knife!" He holds the knife sheath-first, and it dangles precariously over him. Mai quickly steps in and gently slides the blade out of its sheath, letting Tom-Tom look but not touch. "I think Azula intended for this to be used when you're a little older" she says, flipping the blade and catching sight of an inscription carved in one side. It could be considered a short sword or a long dagger to be honest. Either way, it’s still too big for Tom-Tom.

"What does it say?" Tom-Tom edges closer, and Mai holds the knife farther away. "Hold on. Let me check." She squints her eyes and reads aloud, "it says:  _ Without soul, Pray for your mind _ . Huh, that's a bit darker than what I thought she'd put."

Tom-Tom, however, is insistent. "What does it mean?" He whines, and Mai shushes him by stuffing another red bean mochi in his mouth. 

\---

Lady Ursa's face haunts Azula, perhaps more so than Ozai.

  
  


Azula can say with resigned sureness that her father is dead, has been dead for four years. He lies in the Dragonbone Catacombs, and his tapestry in the hall of Fire Lords has long since been completed and overshadowed by Iroh's own tapestry, far simpler and more humble. 

But oh, Lady Ursa has never been formally announced dead. She just disappeared one night, and never returned. Of course, Azula has good reason to believe that her mother's disappearance has a lot to do with Azulon's death, her own namesake.

It is so annoying, when Azula catches her father's eyes in the mirror. They're full of rage, as if he could ever come back from the dead. 

But Ursa's eyes?

Azula loathes them. She hates them so much. Ursa looks all too much alive, all too much healthy, in fact. Like she's right behind her, whereas Ozai looks more like a vengeful fog than an actual being. 

\---

"When you were crowned Fire Lord, your first motion was to recall all troops, right?"

Iroh's brows draw together, and he sighs, something with too many regrets. "Correct."

"Well, if you wanted to recall troops so urgently, couldn't you have done that when you were a General?" Zuko waves his hands around. "Y'know, Dragon of the West."

"Ah. You see, nephew, a General is under a Fire Lord, and, well-" he strokes his beard. "-Fire Lord Azulon had been insistent on expanding our rule, especially in the Earth Kingdom." 

"Oh. Okay." And so, Zuko drops the subject. Iroh is glad. 

\---

Zuko doesn't have the best memory. He can't remember all the names of previous Fire Lords and their advisors and siblings and cousins. He can't really remember what year the first Fire Lord was crowned, either. 

With each and every year, he forgets more and more of his absent mother and dead father. He forgets the sweet moments between Ursa and him down at the turtle-duck pond, along with the time Ozai saved him from drowning***. He forgets the bad, or at least, most of it, until there's nothing but the muddiest details in his mind. 

He remembers Azula making fun of him when they were younger, but she hasn't done any of the sort since she was what, eleven? Yeah, something like that. She's been a weird mix of cold and distant ever since. 

One thing that sticks out in his mind with stark detail is the scar over his face. He can remember every second of the incident, from him challenging the old General to kneeling on the Agni Kai stage, to the searing pain of his scar. 

He can't see too much out of that eye; most of it is too blurry for recognition. 

Doesn’t really matter to dwell on the past. Whatever wrath Ozai had harboured, and whatever hate he’d stored away, had all been reduced to ashes with his body. 

Zuko can’t say for sure, that he’s glad his father’s dead. Killed-no, that’s the wrong word. Assassinated. Yeah, that’s right.

But everything was so fast. One day, his face was branded with his father’s power, and the next time he woke up, Ozai was dead, Azula had changed, and Iroh was crowned Fire Lord. It’s good for everyone if Zuko smiles, agrees with everything. But he feels like a puppet, a toy, strung along on whatever happens next. 

\---

The Dragon Catacombs are said to hold secrets of the Fire Nation’s past, as well as hints of the spiritual world above. 

Zuko’s somewhat skeptical of the last part. 

It’s been a few weeks since he’s last been down here, and no one’s bothered to clean any of it. There’s dust everywhere, and the only sound in the dark hallways is Zuko’s coughs. 

Ozai’s tomb is simple and a little plain, more bland than the others (in Zuko’s opinion)

There’s a sparse collection of the Ozai’s favourite objects, much more sparse than other Fire Lords. As for offerings, there’s nothing but a rotten apple core on the altar. Ozai’s collection of objects include a handful of scrolls, and an honorary photo of him. There’s actually two photos, both framed behind dirty glass frames. One is a small painting depicting Zuko’s father as a child, and the other is a family portrait, when Zuko was around seven.

The scrolls are tied with twine and they open with a puff of dust. The handwriting in the scrolls is jagged and harsh, just like the departed Fire Lord himself. 

Zuko doesn’t really know why he’s reading his father’s old scripts. But he goes forward, and reads the first line. 

_ My son was born. He was weak. Ursa begged me not to cast him out. I relented. I can hear his cries from my room.  _

The scroll falls from Zuko’s hands, with a soft sound upon impact on the hard floor. 

He shouldn’t be surprised. However long his father has been dead for, his words still run mean and blunt. But he’s already here, in Ozai’s tomb, next to his funerary urn. A few more readings won’t hurt. 

As Zuko holds the scroll to his eyes, he can see a row of numbers on the back of all of the scrolls. 

They’re dates. The one that Zuko has read dates back to 83 AG, when he was born, but the earliest scroll is from 53 AG. 

There are five scrolls in total. Perhaps Ozai had only written that much, but these are probably what Iroh thought was the most important possessions of his. 

The five scrolls in order go from 53 AG, to 83 AG, to 85 AG, to 94 AG and then, the last one, 96 AG, the year he was assassinated. 

The oldest scroll takes Zuko by surprise, as he unrolls the beginning, there’s only one sentence, in a shaky script a little less formal than the one he’d just read. 

_ I hate Iroh.  _

The rest of the scroll is a lost cause, as someone’s poured ink over the rest of Ozai’s words. He’d probably done it himself, to hide whatever he wanted to hide. 

Ozai would have been fifteen, younger than Zuko was now, when he wrote about despising his brother. 

Azula was born in 85 AG. This scroll is short, just a few sentences. These scrolls should be less considered as scripts of Ozai’s life and more of quick notes. 

_ My daughter was born today. She howls even louder than her brother. She’ll become a strong firebender.  _

_ Zuko  _

Zuko furrows his brow, as he stares at his own crossed-out name. What was Ozai going to write about him? But it’s no use wondering now; he’ll have to see his father in the afterlife if he wanted to question him. 

The next one is two short sentences.

_ I’m Fire Lord. Ursa is gone.  _

The last scroll. 

_ Zuko is out of the way.  _

And then Zuko’s done, he’s done reading. He wraps up every scroll and places them back. He leaves the Catacombs with nothing but dusty soles to trace him back. 

He’s not really sure what he was looking for. 

\---

The day that Ozai was assassinated has been marked as an unofficial day of mourning, one that no one obeys, least of all Iroh. Things resume normally, and no one wears black if they can help it. 

Today, Zuko is scheduled for a dressing with his tailor. He must be on his way. 

\---

Iroh has excused Azula from all activities today; she stays in her room. 

During lunch, a servant arrives, with a platter of cherry biscuits with cream on top, just like how she used to eat them when she was a child. 

Iroh means well, he sure does, but nothing can exactly take away Azula’s hideous burden. 

\---

Ty Lee and Mai visit Azula, before dinner. 

“So,” Mai starts. “What’s up with the knife you gave my brother?” It’s only been a few days since Tom-Tom’s birthday, but they don’t meet up much now. 

“What about it?” Azula stares up at her canopied bed and her ceiling, inlaid with gold carvings and designs. “The weapon’s good quality.” Ty Lee hums quietly beside her. 

“I meant the quote.” Mai hasn’t changed throughout the years, not really. She hasn’t treated Azula any different because of her actions. 

“Oh. That.”Azula turns over, facing her friends. “I chose it myself. It’s supposed to be motivational.”

“I doubt a three year-old would find that motivational.”

“Eh. I thought he would have liked it.”

\---

Zuko knows something is off, about Ozai’s death. 

To be honest, something was off when Azulon died, too. 

A lot of things are different, are wrapped under covers in the Royal family. 

He’s going to get to the bottom of this. 

He’s also turning eighteen in less than a month. 

\---

Katara, Sokka, and Aang receive a letter from Zuko, which is not unusual. 

But the contents sure are. 

_ Can you visit the Fire Nation soon? There’s a mystery I want to solve.  _

_ I think you’ll like a break from royal duties.  _

Zuko’s right about the last part. It’s been a real chore for Katara and Sokka, to earn the respect of the Northern Water Tribe. Aang’s simply going for the ride. 

They fly to the Fire Nation the next day. 

“So, what can we help you with?” Katara’s still not used to the fine robes, and with her friends, she opts for a simpler vest. “Is it something serious?”

“...I guess not” Zuko admitted. “It’s not like we’re saving the world or anything.” A little chuckle goes around. He leans forward in his seat. “We’re going to find out how Ozai really died. And with luck, how Azulon died as well.”

A few seconds of surprised silence, before Aang speaks up. “Why?” No one misses the past Fire Lords. It’s better for them to stay as ashes. 

Zuko shrugs. A spoiled thing that noble spawn do without a care in the world. “I just want to get some things straight.”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part about Ozai diving into the sea to save a drowning Zuko is actually canon, according to the Avatar: The Last Airbender comic The Promise, Part Two. Here's a link to read this excerpt: <https://imgur.com/a/nS5LId7> it's listed as canon on the Wiki page, too. I sometimes wonder how things could have been better for Zuko’s family. (please tell me if you can't see the image; I'm still new to the Imgur thing)
> 
> So yeah! The royals (and Avatar) are all together, and expect awkward interactions between them and Azula in the next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> ahaha, I hope you guys liked it! The second chapter should be up right away, I think
> 
> Comment what you think! Or go to my Tumblr :)
> 
> Protective Azula is probably my favourite Azula


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